Is Netflix Riding the Korean Wave or Vice Versa?| Transversal Korean Waves: Speculating on the Next Wave With Netflix and Korean Gaming

Abstract

This article examines the potential collaboration between Netflix and the Korean gaming industry and how it could impact the Korean Wave. Using the concept of transversality, it explores hypothetical directions of collaboration that could create a new facet of the Korean Wave, called Transversal Korean Waves. This collaboration could blur the boundaries between virtual and physical reality, integrate content and form into a metaverse, and establish a new digital economy and ethics. This study also contends that this new wave challenges the notion of cultural product ownership and encourages collaboration across boundaries. The article concludes that transversal Korean Wave’s sociocultural implications lie in rediscovering cultural marginalities that were left out in the fast adaptation to universality.